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Natural fluorite mineral has ornamental and lapidary uses. Fluorite may be drilled into beads and used in jewelry, although due to its relative softness it is not widely used as a semiprecious stone. It is also used for ornamental carvings, with expert carvings taking advantage of the stone's zonation.
Two commercially important halide minerals are halite and fluorite. The former is a major source of sodium chloride, in parallel with sodium chloride extracted from sea water or brine wells. Fluorite is a major source of hydrogen fluoride , complementing the supply obtained as a byproduct of the production of fertilizer.
Its use began in the 1940s, following studies of children in a region where water is naturally fluoridated. It is now used widely in public water systems in the United States and some other parts of the world, such that about two-thirds of the U.S. population is exposed to fluoridated water supplies [5] and about 5.7% of people worldwide. [6]
The main uses of fluoride, in terms of volume, are in the production of cryolite, Na 3 AlF 6. It is used in aluminium smelting. Formerly, it was mined, but now it is derived from hydrogen fluoride. Fluorite is used on a large scale to separate slag in steel-making. Mined fluorite (CaF 2) is a commodity chemical used in steel-making.
Fluorite of the acidspar grade is used directly as an additive to ceramics and enamels, glass fibers and clouded glass, and cement, as well as in the outer coating of welding rods. [5] Acidspar is primarily used for making hydrofluoric acid, which is a chemical intermediate for most fluorine-containing compounds.
Human uses of plants include both practical uses, such as for food, clothing, and medicine, and symbolic uses, such as in art, mythology and literature. Materials derived from plants are collectively called plant products .
The mineral species rich in yttrium-erbium were more particularly sought after because thorium and uranium were not used in the "glower" of the Nernst lamp. The Nernst Lamp Company, a subsidy of Westinghouse, then bought Barringer Hill and began mining, extracting a few hundred pounds of yttria minerals annually for a few years.
Fluorine is a relatively new element in human applications. In ancient times, only minor uses of fluorine-containing minerals existed. The industrial use of fluorite, fluorine's source mineral, was first described by early scientist Georgius Agricola in the 16th century, in the context of smelting.